Ontario government shuts down EV and hydrogen vehicle incentive programs

Ontario's new conservative government has shut down incentives for electric vehicle charging stations according to the Ministry of Transportation. The timing of this comes just as the sales of EVs and hybrids are at an upswing with more models. The arrival of the more affordable Tesla Model 3 has generated a lot of sales but a lot of those buyers were counting on the provincial incentives to help defer the costs of their vehicles. This is a step back towards the adoption of EVs in Canada.

The Ontario government under Doug Ford announced Wednesday that it has ended incentive programs for electric and hydrogen vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations, with the latter ending immediately. Their reason is so that the funding for the electric vehicle charging programs funded by cap-and-trade proceeds will supposedly be routed to bring down the price of gas. Vehicles purchased on or before July 11 are eligible.

The province claims cancelling the cap-and-trade program will help it achieve its goal of bringing gas prices down by 10 cents a litre and cutting costs for Ontarians by $1.9 billion per year. This move cuts incentives wirth thousands of dollars to Canadians opting to buy an electric car, hybrid or hydrogen car.